Hunter's Blood Special Edition (Cursed by Blood Saga) by marianne morea Page A

know?”
    “Yeah,” she nodded. “I told him this
morning, but I asked him not to say anything to you. I wanted to tell you
myself…say goodbye just the two of us. It’s funny. I thought sticking around
was my choice, but it looks like God was in on it the whole time, and now I have to go. So you see, I’m not actually going anywhere, I’m just moving on to where
I should have gone in the first place.”
    Lily finally understood. She’d heard
all the clichés about spirits going into the light, but in all her years as a
psychic she’d never been witness to it. A deep ache began to squeeze her chest,
and she suddenly couldn’t breathe. Standing up, she gripped her own arms
against the pain. It was like losing Terry all over again. “When?” Her words
were barely a whisper.
    “Anytime now.”
    The door to the bedroom opened
quietly. “I figured you might need me right about now,” Sean murmured, walking
toward where Lily stood hugging herself in stunned silence. She looked so
fragile he slid his arms around her shoulders as if trying to hold her
together.
    Soft tears trickled down her cheeks.
“It’s not fair,” she mumbled burying her face in Sean’s chest.
    “I’m sorry, Lily. I know the timing
sucks,” Terry said, her voice echoing with regret, but she had no more control
over this than anyone else.
    The air in the room changed. It
sparked as if suddenly overflowing with static electricity, and a tiny light
winked into existence, swirling swiftly behind Terry.
    It grew in its brilliance until she
was entirely immersed. Divine radiance filled her as she took her first step
into the vortex.
    “Terry, wait!”
    She looked back, her translucent hair
whipping silently around her. “I can’t sweetie, even if I wanted to,” she said,
with a shake of her head. “Only happy tears for me Lil’…this is as it should
be. Remember, I love you…always,” she whispered and then was gone.
    Lily just stared at the empty space
where Terry had just been, and an even emptier feeling crept across her heart.
    “You okay?” Sean asked, wiping her
cheek.
    Blinking back the rest of her tears,
Lily shook her head. “Not really.”
    Sean pulled her close. “Terry’s right,
you know. She’s where she should be, and it’s a better place than you or I will
ever know here on earth.”
    Lily’s breath hitched in her throat.
“You’re right, and I know what you said is true. It’s just going to take some
time for my heart to catch up to my head.”
    Taking a deep breath, she closed her
eyes and rested her head on Sean’s chest. This had been some night, but upset
as she was, she wasn’t giving Sean lip service. Terry was right. Though her heart
was breaking, she knew she was going to be okay. A month ago she would have
either fallen to pieces or beat the crap out of someone—probably both.
    Lily sighed and snuggled in further
beneath Sean’s arms. She loved his strength, and how he made her feel when they
were together, like she’d never have to put up a wall again.
    With everything happening in his world
tonight, it meant so much that he thought to be with her, even though she knew
he would have to leave again. More than just her fate lay in the balance, and
the weight of the heavy burden was clear in the air around them.
    “Aren’t you supposed to be somewhere
else? It’s almost midnight, you know.”
    “I know, but I also knew you needed
me.”
    “I did,” she admitted wrapping her
arms around him tighter. She inhaled, waiting for the familiar suffocating
feeling, but it didn’t come. Being able to confess that she needed someone, so
easily, and without the usual self-loathing, stunned her. Terry was right,
again. She’d learned to let go. Only problem now was she didn’t want to let go
of Sean, afraid if she did it would be the last time she’d hold him like this.
    Neither one spoke, but his tension was
evident nonetheless. “ You should probably get back; they’re all waiting for
you,” she